ENN109361 - Castle Station, 2013 (Excavation)

{1} Between March and June 2013 the forecourt of Northampton Station was subject to open area excavation in advance of construction of a new station building. Cutting natural, there was a system of late Saxon curvilinear boundary ditches, dated to the 11th century, and running down towards the late Saxon river edge. By the later 11th century, they had been replaced by an L-shaped ditch system, perhaps denoting a change in property boundaries following the Norman Conquest. There were also groups of contemporary pits and two wells. The pre-castle features and an extensive buried soil produced quantities of animal bone, and it would seem that this area had been a dumping ground for butchery and craft waste. The clearance of this area for the construction of the outer bailey of Northampton Castle occurred between 1100 and 1150, perhaps in the 1120s during the reign of Henry I. During a watching brief to the west of the excavated area, remnants of the foundations for a revetment wall fronting the outer bailey bank were recorded. To the south, and partly beneath the approach to the West Bridge, there may have been a postern gate, providing direct access from the outer bailey to the river crossing. A small stone building within the outer bailey was fully excavated. There were remnants of other walls, perhaps a further small building to the east. The building had a short lifetime, as it had been levelled by the end of the 12th century. Thereafter, there was no further building within this part of the outer bailey. To the south disturbed road metalling formed part of a road leading to the postern gate. Information from OASIS Online Form. Site code: NCS13